The positioning and deployment of medical devices within a target site of a patient is a common, often repeated procedure of contemporary medicine. These devices, which may be implantable stents, cardiac rhythm management leads, neuromodulation devices, implants, grafts, defibrillators, filters, catheters and the like, may be deployed for short or sustained periods of time. They may be used for many medical purposes including the reinforcement of recently re-enlarged lumens, the replacement of ruptured vessels, and the treatment of disease through local pharmacotherapy. They may also be deployed in various areas of the body including the coronary vasculature, the peripheral vasculature, the cerebral vasculature, the esophagus, the trachea, the colon, and the biliary tract.
Porous and/or non-porous coatings may be applied to the surfaces of these medical devices to increase their effectiveness. These coatings may provide a number of benefits including reducing the trauma suffered during the insertion procedure, facilitating the acceptance of the medical device into the target site, and improving the post-procedure effectiveness of the device.
Coated medical devices may also provide for the localized delivery of therapeutic agents to target locations within the body. Such localized drug delivery avoids the problems of systemic drug administration, producing unwanted effects on parts of the body that are not to be treated, or not being able to deliver a high enough concentration of therapeutic agent to the afflicted part of the body. Localized drug delivery may be achieved, for example, by coating portions of the medical devices that directly contact the inner vessel wall. This drug delivery may be intended for short and sustained periods of time.